Morning Walk

               Amidst the dew of early dawn,
               I took a morning walk.
               And along with me, I took a Friend,
               For I felt a need to talk.
               I unburdened both my heart and soul,
               And spoke many things:
               Of plans gone wrong, of failure's pain,
               And how to live with shattered dreams.
               My Friend just listened quietly,
               And uttered not a word.
               For it was His time to listen,
               And my time to be heard.
               His sympathetic ear brought peace,
               As we walked this earthly sod.
               And I learned to trust life again,
               On my morning walk with God.
                                Poet, Barbara Cagle Ray

I think I'll take a long morning walk.......Kitty

  In the last week I've noticed things, things that I have around me that I realize are good things. Things that  others might appreciate too. Simple things.

• Burger King in the mornings -- this is where the older gentlemen like to gather and tell their little stories. Better than any book.
• Wal-mart --  you always run into friends there and get caught up on each other's goings on.
• Sunday morning breakfast -- for all who have kids who have moved out, you know what I mean. They come home for Sunday breakfast.
• The little farmers market in town -- not very big, but lots of goodness.
• Garage sales --  I always find what I need  in one form or another.
• The pop-up thermometer in the turkey -- does the work for me, (doing it right now).
• The many flavored coffee creamers -- because I can't make a good  cup of coffee to save my life.
• Tomorrows -- because I always seem to mess up  my todays.
• Traffic lights -- it's a little "time out" to regroup before you move on.
• Spring time -- a wonderful burst of color all around you.
• My clothesline -- right now, because my dryer is dying.
• Blackberry dumplings and fried pickles -- well, just 'cuz.

And here is one thing that I am not too happy with these days -- my bathroom scale. It seems to be stuck on the same number. Hummmm, maybe too many dumplings and pickles.................LOL

What are some of  your favorite "simple" things in life?

                                   The Jelly Bean Prayer

Red  is for the blood He gave

Green  is for the grass He made

Yellow  is for the sun so bright

Orange is for the edge of night

Black  is for the sins we made

White  is for the grace He gave

Purple is for His hour of sorrow

Pink  is for a new tomorrow

A bag of jelly beans colorful and sweet,

Is a prayer, a promise, is a special treat.

By Charlene Dickerson

    Happy Valentines Day to all who visit.

          With Love .........Kitty

   I have decided to start taking care of my self as some of you know from me speaking of my weight loss. Mom is suffering from Alzheimers and I do have some cancer that runs in my family. Not too mention the fact that I have diabetes, high BP, am overweight, and recently found out that my colesterol is a little high. A recipe for heart disease and disaster. And having to go to the heart doctor recently has made me sit up and take notice of my life.

   I have  been overweight  for  most of my life. As a kid I was always 10 to 20 lbs. bigger than my friends, but  in high school had lost most of that and looked good for graduation.  At 20 years old I weighed  in at around 160 lbs, then having two babies in the same year added  100 lbs, to that total. It's been 26 years and I'm still trying to loose the "baby fat", LOL. So with all of these issues looming over me, I have made a decission that now is the time for ME to get into shape! My biggest dream is to see my children fall in love, get married, and have children of their own, basically my dream is to some day be a grandma. What good is a grandma who is sick and  can't have fun?

   I asked for an MP-3 player for Christmas to listen to while walking  and decided that it was time for a new pair of shoes. When I tell you that I have never ever paid so much for my shoes, I'm not kidding. Not even as a teenager did I spend money on shoes. I am not and have never been, into names or labels. I have always been at least one year behind on all the trends. After someone else wears it and is done with it and sells in a garage sale or I find it in a thrift store, that's when I'm in style, LOL.

   BUT, the other day I noticed that my walking shoes, which were also from a thrift store, were starting to show their age. It felt as though they were starting to hurt me. So I opted for a brand new pair. I figured I was worth the investment.  My son wanted to return something at Academy  sports store so I figured I'd look there. True to my frugal self I started at the cheap end of the isle. They had a couple of pairs that interested me, mainly because they only cost $19.99, lol. But alas they hurt in a spot or two, didn't fit right. Moved on to the $29.99 pairs, again those had issues. I was determined not to cross over to the dark side and pay more than $50.00 for a pair of shoes. So the winning pair was the one pictured below.

   I am wearing them right now trying to break them in before I head out for a walk. I have to say, it didn't pain me as much as I thought it would to hand over $40 to the cashier. I mentioned to her that these were in fact my first ever pair of Nike shoes. The look she gave me was funny, like I was from another planet or something. Yes, I am from another planet, one called "Cheapsville" right next to  "Frugaltown". LOL I was so excited I even called my son at work and made him laugh with my experience and left a message on my dd's cell phone that her mom was indeed a big girl now.

WOMEN'S NIKE AIR SHOO-IN WALKING SHOES   $39.99

                  HEAVEN'S ENTRANCE EXAM

              A man dies and goes to Heaven. Saint Peter
              meets him at the Pearly Gates and says, "Ok,
              here's how it works. You need 100 points to
              make it into Heaven. You tell me all the good
              things you've done, and I'll award you a certain
              number of points for each item, depending on
              how good it was. When you reach 100 points,
              you get in."

              "Okay," the man says...."I was married to the
              same woman for 50 years and never once
              cheated on her, even in my heart."

              "That's wonderful," says Saint Peter, "That's
              worth three points!"  

                "Three points?" he asks.

              "Well, I attended church all my life and
              supported its ministry with my tithes and
              service."

              "Terrific!" says Saint Peter, "That's certainly
              worth a point."  

              "One point?!!   

              Hey, I started a soup kitchen in my city and
              worked in a shelter for homeless veterans!"

              "Fantastic, that's good for two more points, "
              Saint Peter says. 

              "Two points?!!" the man
              cries.

              "At this rate, the only way I'm going to get
              into Heaven is by the Grace of God!"

              "Bingo, 100 points!  Come on in!"
                      ___________________

  One of my Christmas gifts this year was a Ped Egg. It was given to me by my wonderful daughter. She put together a beautiful gift basket of different lotions, brushes, powder, soaps, and this great gadget. I waited a day or two before I had time to use it. But I finally used it and I just have to tell you all that it is fantastic.

   I have always had bad feet because I love running around bare foot and we all know that isn't very good for our little tootsies. My heels were almost always dry and cracked, and most times I was embarrased to wear sandles or backless shoes. Well not anymore. This wonderful little invention has cured all of that. I'm telling  you ladies, its fantastic.  A friend of mine has one and I watched her use it on herself and to be honest it kinda grossed my out at first, you know, dead skin and all, lol. But it really works.

  So next time your at the store and you pass by this item, and you have problem feet, pick this up. It is one of the best buys for your $10.  This not a commercial and I'm not being paid for this, LOL it's just me wanting to share a good thing with friends.

 I posted once before about all the "free" stuff I receive in the mail from many organizations and charities that I sometimes donate to. Well once again I have an abundance of items that I will not be using. This times it's Christmas cards and gift labels. I am not the type of person that throws ANYTHING away. I always try to find another use for it or another home for things.

So I thought with times being the way they are and just yesterday on the blog someone mentioned that they can not afford to buy or mail cards this year, I thought I would offer a package that may be helpful to someone.

I have a package that I have put together that includes the following items.

• 72 gift tags
• 35 or so Christmas cards with envelopes from different organizations or groups, all too cute.
• a 2009 wall calendar
• a smaller one page 2009 calendar with a conversion chart on the reverse side, great for the kids.
• a Christmas CD with 29 great Christmas songs on it from the Disabled Vets
• I will also include a book of 20 Christmas theme, (if I can get Christmas ones) stamps to help with the mailing of the cards.
• And maybe an extra added surprise or two for good measure, lol. 

Sorry I don't have a picture, my camera is still not working, I'm so lost without it too. So if anyone is interested in these items just leave a comment here on my blog. If I should get more than one comment I will draw a winner from the bunch. I will let this ride over the weekend and pull on Monday morning. Hope this is helpful to someone.

  I received a phone call yesterday from my bff Debbie, and she is coming for a visit. Debbie has been going through so much in your life lately, that I'm so glad she is finding the time to get away for a few days. Life around here is slow for now, Thank the Lord,  just what she might need. We will just sit on the porch and chat for hours and hours. Ahh good stuff!

  So with that said, I'm on a cleaning frenzy this morning and will be busy untill Sunday, with my friend, lol. So  I wanted to wish everyone a great weekend and if  you need me, I'm on the porch!